Hempstead Town installing solar panels

Hempstead Town is installing solar panels at town facilities in Bellmore, Seaford and Merrick, thanks to a $250,000 grant secured by state Sen. Charles J. Fuschillo Jr., town officials said.

The town used $95,360 of the grant in recently completing an 11.8-kilowatt solar installation with 60 solar panels in Newbridge Road Park in Bellmore that will power administrative offices adjacent to the pool.

A second solar installation, costing $93,750, is under way at Seamans Neck Park in Seaford to help power the park’s administrative building. A 10-kilowatt fixed solar panel system also will be installed in November on the roof of the Merrick Senior Center. The $59,750 project will help meet electrical demand at the senior center.

Each of the solar project installations is using expert in-house staff, town officials said.

“Solar power is a clean and renewable energy source which will help the Town conserve both energy and taxpayer dollars,” Fuschillo (R-Merrick) said in a statement. “Through these projects, the Town will be able to generate enough solar energy to power several buildings, cutting costs and delivering valuable savings.”

The solar installations are among the town’s clean energy projects which include a hydrogen fueling station, a solar charging station for electric vehicles, a wind turbine, a geothermal energy project, and a solar and wind-powered shellfish nursery.

“As part of my administration’s ongoing commitment to invest in clean energy, I am excited that we will be able to broaden our use of renewable energy sources at town facilities,” Supervisor Kate Murray said in a statement.